Oak Family
The Oak Family is a prestigious and wealthy noble family presently living in District 2. They have 96 family members. It is also one of the seven God Houses. (manga chapter 75) Like many noble families in Europe, it has senior branch (lineage of the descendants of the firstborn sons) and cadet branch (of the younger sons). However, it is unknown whether an Oak's assests are distributed to his/her children equally or they are passed only to the firstborn child (primogeniture is quite common in European noble families). Family Members *Wakaba Oak *Shuri Oak *Hakuren's Father *Hakuren's Mother (an Oak by marriage) *Hakuren Oak *Lance Influence As it is family tradition that an Oak must pursue a career in either the court or the military (anyone who does not is faced with disownment, e.g. anime episode 23), its members occupy significant positions in these areas and they have links to both the court and the military. Hakuren has said that the Oak family "sees no worth in a job that isn't politics ot the military". It appears that the Oak family is quite powerful, as one of the accompanists of Princess Ouka has said that she disliked the Oaks because they look like "they think they can own everything" (manga chapter 63). Her thoughts about the Oaks using their influence to get what they want were proven true early on, when Marshal Wakaba Oak persuaded the examiners to allow his son, Shuri Oak, to graduate when he would have failed the graduation exam otherwise, and Hakuren's father also used his connection to obtain the post of the princess's tutor for Hakuren. Wealth They are wealthy. The members live in big houses and are served by about 400 residence servants. The area of their land is 300,000 tsubo (1 tsubo is aproximately 3.3 square meters). In recent years they have been monopolizing the sales of the Kokujyuseki, a precious jewel, which has been further increasing their wealth (manga chapter 75). In chapter 77, it is revealed that kokuhuseki are in fact Raggs royalty's jewels. Because Marshal Wakaba Oak could not destroy those jewels like Raggs' literature, he asked a Warsfeil to use black magic to conceal these jewels, which is evidence of Raggs' existence. Marriage It appears that so long as the Oaks are powerful and wealthy, many people are interested in marrying them (e.g. Hakuren has said that since he was a child his father has been giving him albums full of photos of girls who are willing to be his wife. He also told Hakuren that in order to succeed the Oak family as an adult, a male member must marry a good wife). This suggests that many of their marriages are to a certain degree arranged (since they choose one from a list). Manga chapter 12 also suggests that those who are married are forced to remain so, even if the marriage is an unhappy one, as something like divorce is seen as "scandalous" for the Oak's reputation. Appearance Considering the Oaks who have made an appearance so far, it is estimated that an Oak has fair skin (a recurring trait with the nobility in the series), fine (manga chapter 63, and in the manga Shuri's hair is drawn in a way which suggests softness and shine) light-colored hair (light blond in the anime), which could be a play on qualities of the Aryan race. Their eye color is more commonly light, e.g purple (Wakaba and Hakuren), blue (Shuri), golden (Lance); darker colors seem less common (e.g medium grey, Wakaba's brother) in the family. Their faces can be considered seductive and look like a fox (especially when they smile). They also have long bottom eye-lashes. It appears that for some strange reason an Oak is recognizable by his physical features, as in the anime although Haruse has never met Hakuren before, at first glance he concludes that Hakuren is an Oak (anime episode 20). Ability It is likely that quite a number of them are gifted with zaiphon (more commonly the attacking type), as students at the Barsburg Military Academy are people who can use zaiphon. Trivia *The oak (tree) is a common symbol of strength and endurance. It is the national tree for many countries, including Germany. Traditionally, it is also an important part of Germany Army regalia. *It seems that apart from the member who is acting as Ghost Relikt's vessel, the other Oaks are not aware that Ayanami is the reincarnation of Verloren, as they let him infiltrate into their own God House easily as a guest coming to Marshal Wakaba's funeral. (manga chapter 75) Category:Families